Harvest of Hope Fest

Punk, indie bands coming to fairgrounds

NICK McGREGORSpecial to Compass

Published Friday, January 09, 2009

P>The three-day Harvest of Hope Fest is slated to hit the fairgrounds March 6-8, with a list of musicians making their first stop in St. Augustine -- from Canadian punk-rock radicals Propagandhi to mashup DJ king Girl Talk.

"We hope for crowds of about 4,000 concert-goers each day of the festival," said Dan Larson, Marketing and Promotions Manager of the St. Augustine Amphitheatre and St. Johns County Fairgrounds. "That equals about 12,000 over the three-day weekend."

Larson said that high school age to those in their mid-30s are expected to show up to watch favorite bands.

And that doesn't even begin to include the multitude of smaller St. Augustine and Gainesville acts eager to add their voice and assistance to the show.

"The punk rock and progressive rock movement has many open-minded individuals who like the unique work of Harvest of Hope in helping migrant workers," said Harvest of Hope founder Phillip Kellerman said.

Fifty percent of the bands have offered to play for free.

"Another goal of Harvest of Hope is to generate awareness of the huge economic, social and cultural contributions of migrant farmworkers and their families," Kellerman said. "They travel long distances to work in our nation's fields harvesting a large share of the fruits, vegetables and other foods that Americans enjoy daily."

Harvest of Hope Festival

When: March 6-8

When: St. Johns County Fairgrounds, 13 miles west of St. Augustine in Elkton

Jan. 23-24: Pro-rodeo with bull fighters, rodeo clowns, team roping, calf roping, barrel racing and bull riding. Rodeo performers throughout Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Southeast will participate in this event. The show starts at 8 p.m. each night. Cost is $12 for ages 12 and older, and $7 for students ages 6 to 11.